“Footloose” the Musical Opens in Glendale

Real life Mayor Plays the Role of Mayor on Stage

It is the classic 1980’s film of teen angst and rebellion meets small town oppression, and it took Kevin Bacon out of the frying pan and into the white hot fire of celebrity cool. 

Now, a new “Footloose”movie is about to let loose on a whole new generation.  The movie has also become musical theater.
 
This weekend, “Footloose,”  the stage play, opens in Glendale, with casting that makes this not just a stage production, but a reality show.
 
Laura Friedman, the Mayor of Glendale is playing the mayor of the small uptight Midwest town that decides to ban dancing; not exactly a sympathetic character.
 

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“All Mayors should have to do this… it should be required… because we shouldn’t be taking ourselves too seriously,” Friedman said.
 
And the reality show continues with the town council.
 
Glendale unified school board members Christine Walters and Joylene Wagner are playing members of the fictional nay sayers for the stepping stone players production. Again, not exactly the heroines of this story.
 
“My son is a music theater person, so I thought I’ve got to try what he’s been doing. I get the 30 second version of it though,” Walters said.
 
It doesn’t end there. The group decided that to fill out their cast, they would also audition local high school kids to play, you guessed it, high school kids --to work side by side with the professional actors in the company
 
It is either a stroke of genius or insanity.   It certainly it draws more attention to the show, and that never hurts.
 
The show will run weekends through the 25th at the Hoover High School auditorium.
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